March 2, 2013

VCU 84, BUTLER 52

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Troy Daniels scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and VCU's full-court pressure overwhelmed No. 20 Butler from the outset, leading the Rams to an 84-52 victory Saturday.

In a much anticipated rematch of their unlikely meeting in the national semifinals in Houston in 2011, the Rams (23-6, 11-3 Atlantic 10) dominated, forcing 14 turnovers in the first half, one more than Butler's average for a game, and converted them into 24 points on their way to a 45-21 lead.

Butler (22-7, 9-5) scored the first seven points after halftime to close within 17, but Briante Weber and Treveon Graham each scored five points in a 10-4 run and it was pretty much over, allowing the Rams to clinch one of the top four seeds in the conference tournament later this month.

Roosevelt Jones scored 14 points and Khyle Marshall had 13 for Butler.


TEMPLE 76, RHODE ISLAND 70

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Khalif Wyatt scored 24 points and Jake O'Brien recorded a double-double to lead Temple to a 76-70 win over Rhode Island on Saturday.

O'Brien finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Owls (21-8, 9-5 Atlantic 10 Conference), who won their fifth straight game. Will Cummings and Scootie Randall each had 15 points, and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson pulled down 13 rebounds - seven offensive.

Temple had a 10-point advantage midway through the second half. But the Owls eventually saw their lead trimmed to one point after Rhode Island's Andre Malone made two free throws with 2:20 left.

However, Temple held the Rams (8-19, 3-11) scoreless the rest of the game. O'Brien made two free throws, Wyatt knocked down two free throws and Cummings added another free throw to seal the victory for the Owls.

Xavier Munford led Rhode Island with 30 points. Malone had 18 points.


MASSACHUSETTS 77, XAVIER 72

CINCINNATI (AP) - Terrell Vinson and Freddie Riley combined to hit 10 3-pointers in Massachusetts' 77-72 victory over Xavier on Saturday.

Vinson scored 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including four from deep, while Riley tallied 18 points, all from 3-point range. Trey Davis came off the bench to score 12 for UMass (18-9, 8-6 Atlantic 10 Conference), which shot a season-high 52 percent (13 of 25) from beyond the arc.

UMass took a 69-62 lead on Vinson's trey with 6:23 remaining.

Xavier's Travis Taylor followed an Isaiah Philmore 3-pointer with a free throw to cut the deficit to 69-66, but the Musketeers (16-12, 8-6) made just 2 of 7 shots and committed two turnovers over the final 5 minutes as UMass slowly pulled away.

The Minutemen converted 49 percent (27 of 55) from the field to overcome a 41-30 rebounding deficit.

Semaj Christon led Xavier with 17 points and Philmore added 14.


LA SALLE 97, DUQUESNE 64

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ramon Galloway posted 23 points and six assists, and La Salle used a big first half to defeat Duquesne 97-64 Saturday.

Tyrone Garland added 20 points, and Tyreek Duren and Jerrell Wright scored 16 apiece for La Salle (20-7, 10-4 Atlantic 10 Conference), which posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1988-89 and 1989-90.

La Salle started the game on a 13-1 run, and Duquesne did not score its first field goal until the 13:34 mark.

The Explorers shot 62 percent (18 of 29) and held the Dukes to just 30 percent (9 of 30), in the first half. La Salle led at halftime 50-25.

La Salle led by as many as 37 points in the second half.

Sam Mills chipped in 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting for the Explorers, including two 3-pointers.

Derrick Colter scored 16 points to lead the Dukes (8-20, 1-13).

DAYTON 78, RICHMOND 74

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Kevin Dillard scored 21 points and Devin Oliver recorded his second straight double-double to lead Dayton to a 78-74 win over Richmond on Saturday.

Oliver finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Flyers (16-12, 6-8 Atlantic 10 Conference), who have won two in a row.

Dayton led the majority of the first half and never trailed after halftime, but had a tough time holding off the Spiders. The Flyers had a seven-point advantage midway through the second half, then had their lead trimmed to 60-59 when Richmond's Cedrick Lindsay made a free throw with 6:11 left.

But the Spiders (17-12, 7-7) were unable to tie or pull ahead. Dayton's Josh Benson and Dyshawn Pierre each followed with a free throw, then Dillard converted a three-point play to push the Flyers lead to six and hold on.

Lindsay had 22 points and seven assists for Richmond.


No. 18 SAINT LOUIS 66, GEORGE WASHINGTON 58

WASHINGTON (AP) - WASHINGTON (AP) - Dwayne Evans scored 22 points and Kwamain Mitchell added 18 and No. 18 SAINT LOUIS won its 11th straight game, holding off George Washington 66-58 on Saturday.

With two games remaining in the regular season, SAINT LOUIS (23-5, 12-2 Atlantic 10) holds a one-game lead over Virginia Commonwealth (23-6, 11-3), which routed No. 20 Butler 84-52 on Saturday.

Reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Kevin Larsen led George Washington with 14 points. The Colonials (12-15, 6-8) have lost three straight and five of six.

The Colonials led by three with just over 7 minutes left when the Billikens put together a 10-0 run. Evans hit two free throws and then converted a layup when Mitchell's 3-point attempts came up short. Rob Loe, Evans and Mitchell all made two free throws on consecutive possessions to put SAINT LOUIS up 55-48 with 4:20 left.

George Washington got no closer than five points the rest of the way.

ST. BONAVENTURE 104, CHARLOTTE 83

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (AP) - Eric Mosley scored 23 points and Demitrius Conger collected his fourth double-double this season as St. Bonaventure downed Charlotte 104-83 Saturday night.

The Bonnies (14-13, 7-7 Atlantic 10 Conference) topped the century mark for the first time since a 112-107, four-overtime win against Ohio on Dec. 18, 2010. Saturday, they hit 58.8 percent (30 of 51) from the floor and 11-of-18 shooting 3-pointers, with Mosley hitting 5 of 8 from deep.

With two A-10 games left, the win moves St. Bonaventure into a tie with Richmond and Saint Joseph's for eighth place, while Charlotte (18-10, 6-8) falls into a three-way tie with Dayton and George Washington for 11th - the top 12 teams make the conference tournament.

Conger had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Matthew Wright added 20 points and Dion Wright 15.

E. Victor Nickerson had 18 points for Charlotte, which has lost four straight and six of seven.

SAINT JOSEPH'S 82, FORDHAM 56

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Carl Jones scored 24 points and Saint Joseph's eased past Fordham 82-56 Saturday night to sweep the season series.

In their previous meeting, which the Hawks won 66-62 on Jan. 30, there were 23 lead changes before Jones made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute.

This time, Saint Joseph's (16-11, 7-7 Atlantic 10 Conference) opened with a 10-0 run, holding the Rams scoreless for nearly 7 minutes. The Hawks expanded their lead to 19 in the first half and maintained a 14-point cushion from there.

Jones hit 5 of 8 3-pointers as Saint Joseph's went 10 of 24 from deep. Fordham made only 5 of 24 3-pointers.

Halil Kanacevic added 12 points and Ronald Roberts Jr. contributed 10 for the Hawks.

Mandell Thomas scored 15 points and Ryan Canty added 14 points with 15 rebounds for the Rams (6-23, 2-12), who have dropped nine straight games.